PhilN
Money Making Megastar!
I haven't stayed at a villa so can't give any tips there, but if you're looking for a high quality inexpensive hotel then I can't recommend Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando enough. Absolutely brilliant for what you need.
As for Disney parks, they're ALL worth doing, including the water parks (my favourites). We went for a week to Orlando and then a week to Clearwater, and managed to fit in all the Disney parks.
I booked through Virgin Holidays which has advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, all of your booking is in one place. We booked absolutely everything with them; flights, hotels, Disney tickets, car hire etc. You can also ask for a discount and they'll usually do one. We also got free tickets to the V Room in Manchester Airport worth £25 each. A great place to have an unlimited food breakfast in comfy seats before your flight. On the downside, you don't get to shop around for prices for individual things.
Get a plan together for what you want to do well in advance of booking fastpasses for the parks. Structure is EVERYTHING with a Disney holiday.
There are a few things you can do to make life easier for yourself, especially with a larger group of people. Fast track security at the airport cost £14 in total for 6 of us. We walked right through in seconds while others queued for a loooooong time. Checking in online with Alamo in advance means you can just walk up and pick a car. No need to queue. Booking fastpasses 30 days before you leave means you won't get stuck in queues for hours at the parks.
Some great restaurants to consider offsite:
Bahama Breeze
Cheesecake Factory
House of Blues
4 Rivers Smokehouse
IHOP
Denny's
Keke's
As for Disney parks, they're ALL worth doing, including the water parks (my favourites). We went for a week to Orlando and then a week to Clearwater, and managed to fit in all the Disney parks.
I booked through Virgin Holidays which has advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, all of your booking is in one place. We booked absolutely everything with them; flights, hotels, Disney tickets, car hire etc. You can also ask for a discount and they'll usually do one. We also got free tickets to the V Room in Manchester Airport worth £25 each. A great place to have an unlimited food breakfast in comfy seats before your flight. On the downside, you don't get to shop around for prices for individual things.
Get a plan together for what you want to do well in advance of booking fastpasses for the parks. Structure is EVERYTHING with a Disney holiday.
There are a few things you can do to make life easier for yourself, especially with a larger group of people. Fast track security at the airport cost £14 in total for 6 of us. We walked right through in seconds while others queued for a loooooong time. Checking in online with Alamo in advance means you can just walk up and pick a car. No need to queue. Booking fastpasses 30 days before you leave means you won't get stuck in queues for hours at the parks.
Some great restaurants to consider offsite:
Bahama Breeze
Cheesecake Factory
House of Blues
4 Rivers Smokehouse
IHOP
Denny's
Keke's